The Dragons' Ball Dance
by newserkzzz
Summary: CH. 2 UPDATED. In celebration of Fiore and mankind's victory over the invading dragons, the King of Fiore has announced a ball in honor of the dragon slayers. As an added bonus, a huge amount of Jewels will be awarded to the best dance couple. Natsu is fired up as always, but he seems to be hiding something from Lucy. Multiple Pairings. Some might not be your liking. EPILOGUE SOON
1. Chapter 1

**Author's notes: **So I decided to make a two-shot for the upcoming chapter "The Great Dance Tournament". This is just my take on what might happen. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is owned by Mashima and I have no intentions of profiteering from a man who can churn out 6 manga chapters non-stop for two weeks straight.

* * *

_**The Dragons' Ball Dance**_

_Chapter 1_

The guild was bustling with merriness as usual, but this time was a bit more raucous than usual, for Fairy Tail had finally regained the title as the strongest guild in Fiore once again. And if that didn't top all, they had also managed to gain victory over the invading dragons a week ago with the help of the other guilds. Thanks to their participation in the invasion, Master Makarov also managed to pull a few strings with the king, especially with how Fairy Tail contributed the most number of dragon slayers in the battle. Even though everyone saw how obvious Makarov was; Makarov simply played dumb whenever anybody asked if he had cashed in favors with the king. Makarov was too obvious, how else could Fairy Tail have gotten their old building back for free and got their debt to Ryuzetsu Land slashed in half?

Amidst all the bustling noise, Lucy was simply staring into her drink and fiddling with her straw. The past week had been nothing but a roller coaster ride for her. The Grand Magic Games, the Dragons, her future self and Rogue's, it had been quite a bit much for her to take in. And those were the least of her thoughts. Over the last week, her mind had been strangely stuck on one person: _Natsu_. It was… weird, to put it mildly. She had never thought of Natsu much, definitely not_ this_ much, for sure. So why, for the love of Mavis, can't she get her mind off the fire-breathing knucklehead? Now that she thought about it, there was also _that_ incident…. Lucy had to admit, it did feel…good to be fondled by Natsu.

'_No wait, why the hell am I thinking about that?!' _Lucy groaned against the bar as she desperately tried to block out dirty thoughts about Natsu. After all, there was no way he was that hormonal and he probably did it for the hell of it. Right? _'Great, just what I need, more unnecessary thoughts!'_ Lucy groaned for the umpteenth time that day. But however muddled up her feelings are, she did at least come to one conclusion; that there's something special about Natsu. She had noticed that every time she needed some form of comfort, she would always go to Natsu's side. It was strange how the knucklehead had that much hold over her. It's as if Natsu had the special ability make her feel comfortable and forget her surroundings sometimes.

All she needed now was to figure out what the heck it is her feelings were.

While Lucy was leaning against the bar, she broke out of her stupor thanks to a familiar voice.

"Hey Luce!" Natsu shouted from behind her back.

"Eeep!" Lucy squeaked.

"What's the matter, Luce? Yer acting weird again."

"Lucy's always weird, remember?" Happy quipped.

"Shut it, Happy!" Lucy snapped.

'_Why wouldn't I be, you moron? It's all because of you!' _Lucy screamed in her head. Just as she finished that sentence, Lucy gulped and scanned the guild with her sight. She definitely didn't want a certain mind-reading dragon slayer to overhear her. Luckily, Cobra was nowhere in sight, she sighed in relief as she remembered that he was out shopping with Kinana. She had passed by them on her way inside the guild. Apparently, the bar was running out of liquor, so Kinana decided to take it upon herself to restock the bar and Cobra offered to escort her.

Makarov had offered Cobra a place to stay while he had the paperwork for his pardon taken care of. And while Makarov didn't extend an offer for membership, Makarov seemed certain he was going to stick around.

"Hey Lucy, you listening?" Natsu asked.

"Umm yeah, sorry what was it?" Lucy almost sputtered.

Natsu sighed.

"Anyways, there's something important I need to talk to you now, got some time?" Natsu asked.

'_Eeeh!? WHAT!? PLEASE TELL ME THIS ISN'T WHAT I THINK IT IS!_' Lucy's mind was on the verge of over-exhausting itself. _'No wait, calm down, remember the last time this happened?'_ Lucy reminded herself, taking a short breath to calm down.

"Um yeah, sure Natsu. What is it?"

"Ok, truth is-"

"Oh, Master! Welcome back!" someone in the guild greeted.

Makarov likewise waved the guild members, signalling them to stand back down.

"How'd the meeting with the King and Council go?" Macao asked from a corner of the guild.

"No problem, right now we're just organizing the reconstruction duties among the guilds. The matter of Acnologia still has yet to be discussed in detail." Makarov said, facing his children from the front of the bar with a stern tone.

Macao likewise put on a hardened expression along with several other guild members. Among them, Natsu. On the other hand, there were also other guild members with worried expressions like Lucy.

"But that's enough of that now. We should be focusing on the present. We can think about that matter later." Makarov smiled gently as he tried to uplift his children's spirits.

"Hear, Hear!" Macao toasted.

And just like that, the guild went back to its usual atmosphere.

"Ahem! I have a little announcement to make, though." Makarov announced.

Seeing as the guild didn't seem to have heard him, Makarov sighed and transformed.

"HEY! YOU BRATS! LISTEN UP!" Makarov bellowed in his giant form.

The guild immediately went silent as Makarov reverted to his normal form.

"Now then…. Hmm? Where's Cobra?" Makarov wondered.

"Right here, Old Man!" Cobra shouted from the entrance with Kinana in tow.

"Ah, there you are."

"Geez, next time tone it down will ya? My ear's sensitive, y'know." Cobra groused.

Makarov simply hand waved him.

"All right then, are all the dragon slayers here as well?" Makarov asked.

"Here" Laxus replied.

"Over here, old man." Gajeel raised his hand.

"I'm here too!" Wendy piped up.

"Good. Now then, the King has asked me to announce an event to celebrate our victory over the dragons last week." Makarov began as he took out a parchment from his coat and held it in front of him.

"I'm going to announce the King's letter. 'In celebration of Fiore and mankind's victory over the invading dragons, I, King Toma E. Fiore, hereby announce the Dragons' Ball."

"The Dragons' Ball will be held in the next three days at Mercurius Palace. As for the name, there's a reason for that. This gala is also being held in honor of the dragon slayers. Hence, the Dragons' Ball. The dragon slayers will be the VIPs of this gala and you guys will open the dance portion of the ball." Makarov explained.

"VIP? It's not like we did anything to deserve that. We didn't even defeat them." Cobra argued.

Natsu nodded solemnly, agreeing with Cobra.

"I understand your point. But nevertheless, all of you were crucial in the battle. Dragon Slaying Magic has been proven to be the only kind of magic effective against dragons. If none of you were there, then we would have very well been overrun by them, and mankind would've been wiped out." Makarov countered.

"People all over Fiore have recognized your valiant efforts and contribution in the battle. That's why they're holding this ball in your honor."

A short pause hung in the air before Cobra spoke up again.

"….. There's something else, isn't it? Why don't you spill it, you conniving geezer?" Cobra smirked.

Makarov muttered under his breath, something along the lines of _'cheeky brat and his stupid hearing.' _

"Fine, truth is, this ball is also a tournament of sorts. The best dance couple will get to take home 500 million Jewels, with half of it going into the guild's coffer."

"250 MILLION!? that's worth 2 years of rent and including the mission damages!" Lucy gawked. Finally! Her big break in paying the rent came! She never thought this day would finally come. Lucy started crying tears of joy.

"Come on, old man… there's a bit more, isn't there?" Cobra grinned evilly.

"Grr….. Fine! This is going to be mandatory for you dragon slayers 'cause I need to get in good graces with the King! You happy!?" Makarov yelled.

"Now that wasn't so bad was it?" Cobra snickered.

As Makarov finished with his announcement, the guild was bustling with newfound excitement once again.

"Yosh! I'm all fired up! Oi, Lucy! You're gonna be my partner right?!" Natsu asked demandingly.

"Eh!?" Lucy sweat-dropped.

"C'mon, you know I'm not gonna let Ice Freak or Metal-head win this contest!"

"Sigh… I should've known that's your reason."

"Sure, Natsu. Besides, I need the money anyways" Lucy answered with Jewels shining in her eyes.

"Lu-chan! Over here!" Levy called out to Lucy to her table.

"What's up, Levy-chan?" as Lucy approached Levy's table that she shared with Wendy and Charle, along with Natsu in tow.

"Sooo… are you guys going together?" Levy asked in a teasing tone.

Lucy's cheeks started to turn into a light shade of red.

"Yeah, Levy. He's not a bad dancer, so I'm not too worried. What about you, though?" Lucy smirked evilly at her friend, seeing an opportunity to turn things around on her.

Levy started squirming.

"Got a certain iron dragon slayer in your mind?" Lucy pressed on, taking on a sadistic smirk that almost eerily reminded Levy of Gajeel's.

"Lu-chan~~" Levy whined.

Lucy giggled. She knew that Levy had started falling for the dragon slayer ever since they returned from Tenrou. It came as quite a big surprise for her. And she also admitted that Gajeel had come a long way from his Phantom Lord days, even going so far as to take on a dangerous mission that could've killed him and Makarov wouldn't bat an eye over it. Gajeel's infiltration mission was considered a highly risky mission even by other guilds' standards. Not even Sabertooth had dared to venture in those waters. The fact that he completed the mission successfully was something of a feat in the Legal Guild circles. Everyone was very surprised to find out after the Games that Gajeel had gone that far for the guild.

"Sigh… I wish. But I don't think he'll even want to. It'd be a miracle if he went up and straight asked me now." Levy mumbled.

"Metal-head's too oblivious to actually ask you. It would take hell freezing over 10 times and he still wouldn't get it. I bet he's too chicken, even I've got bigger balls enough to actually ask Lucy. He's probably afraid to lose, anyways." Natsu cackled at Gajeel's apparent cowardice.

Just as he finished talking, a long iron pole smacked right into his face.

"I heard that, Salamander!" Gajeel roared.

"Bring it, gear-brains!" Natsu roared back.

"Oi, Shrimp! You're coming with me to the ball, right!? We're gonna wipe the floor together and show Salamader and Bunny Girl what we're made of!" Gajeel said before charging towards Natsu and started off the guild's daily brawl.

"That wasn't exactly how I wanted him to ask me…." Levy muttered at the dragon slayer in question, frowning at his back.

"Hey, at least you got your wish, right?" Lucy said, trying to cheer her best friend up.

"Yeah, I guess so." Levy conceded.

"Speaking of which, what about Wendy?" Lucy said, as a thought occurred to her and turned to Wendy.

"I don't think I'll be able to, Lucy-san. I don't even have someone around my age to go with." Wendy replied sheepishly. She had to admit, a part of her wanted to go, but she didn't have anybody that would probably be willing to be her partner.

"That's true…. I think Makarov would let you off the hook since you're an exception." Levy agreed, but decided to change her mind as someone caught the corner of her eye.

"No, on second thought…. What about Romeo? He's right around your age, why don't you two go together?" Levy suggested while glancing over towards the young boy in question.

"Ehh!? Ro-Romeo-kun? I don't think so. I don't think he's interested in something like that. Or me anyways." Wendy stuttered with a blush on her face.

"Why not, Wendy-chan? You said you wanted to go with someone with your own age. Romeo fits the criteria." Lucy argued.

"Bu-but!" Wendy tried to protest.

"Hey, Romeo, over here!" Lucy called out to the boy.

"Lu-lucy san!" Wendy squeaked.

"Yeah, what is it Lucy-nee?" asked Romeo as he came over to their table.

"Wendy here wants to go to the ball, and she needs somebody her age to go with. Naturally, we thought of you." Levy answered for Lucy and Wendy.

Romeo scratched his head.

"Are you sure? I mean, I'm not sure if Wendy here really wants to go with me."

"Romeo, didn't you hear what Master said? The dragon slayers are the stars of this ball. Do you want Wendy to go there alone with all that attention on her? You know how shy she is around so many people." Lucy stated as a matter-of-factly with a slightly threatening tone.

Romeo gulped. He knew that if he were to turn down this request, Levy and Lucy would give him the most painful beating of his life. Or worse, they could have Wendy's dragon slayer brothers to chase him to the ends of the world. As much as Natsu loved Romeo, there was no question that he put Wendy above the boy.

That, and he didn't really like to see his friends troubled. After all, Fairy Tail helps their members in need.

"All right, fine. I'll go. Is that okay with you Wendy?" he asked.

"U-um, sure. I guess…" Wendy replied in a small voice.

"Well, there you have it, Romeo. It's a go." Levy cheerfully concluded, leaving no room to protest.

Romeo nodded and headed back to his father's side.

In the meanwhile, Wendy opted to lean against the table trying to hide the blush in her face. Levy chuckled and patted the young dragon's head. Lucy let out a small giggle at the embarrassed young girl in front of her.

"Did you really have to do that?" Charle asked with a disapproving frown at the girls.

"Hey, it's a date she wanted, then a date she'll get." Levy argued.

"Sigh… I just hope that boy behaves himself, at least." Charle said.

"Don't worry, Charle. Even though Natsu is his idol, He's definitely got better tact than Natsu." Lucy assured.

Meanwhile, Makarov approached the second floor railing from above, and looked down at an all too familiar sight of a guild brawl. When would some of his more impulsive children learn to control their tempers better? Then again, Fairy Tail wouldn't be Fairy Tail without the daily fisticuffs.

Makarov took a deep breath.

"ALL RIGHT YOU BRATS! KNOCK IT OFF!" Makarov yelled from the second floor, breaking up the brawl that had been going on in the guild.

Instantly, the guild stopped the fight.

"I need the dragon slayers up here in my office, so come on up. And bring your partners for the ball dance too."

The dragon slayers followed Makarov's instructions with their respective partners and went up to his office. Inside, Laxus and Mirajane was already waiting. Seeing the demon barmaid's eyes brighten up with glee at the couples, Lucy knew she was in her own little happy fantasy land.

As she surveyed the couples, she noticed Cobra had chosen Kinana as his partner. It wasn't much of a surprise, really. Ever since Cobra stayed at the guild, he could be seen mostly hanging around Kinana and chatting with her. According to Kinana, she said they had a bit of history together, but didn't seem willing to delve much further into the topic. Nevertheless, with how close they seemed to be with each other, everyone had started speculating about their relationship. So, the fact that Cobra had chosen her as his partner, was enough to put those speculations to rest.

And then, there was Wendy and Romeo. Lucy could tell Mirajane was resisting the urge to squeal at the sight of the young couple. Even Makarov seemed very pleased with the assembled couples.

"Ahem. Now then, as to the reason why I called you all here. All 10 of you will be going to Crocus and meet the King and his daughter as they've requested an audience with you. You will all depart for Crocus the day before the ball." Makarov explained.

"Why? Is there a special reason?" Levy asked.

"I have no idea, child. But I'm sure they have some sort of good reason. In fact, His Majesty has personally asked me."

"Excuse me, if we're going the day before the ball, doesn't that mean we're going to stay overnight at Crocus for the ball?" It was Lucy's turn to ask this time.

"That's already taken care of. As a matter of fact, you'll be staying overnight at Mercurius Palace." Makarov answered.

"We're staying at Mercurius? It sounds so important for His Highness to actually arrange for us to stay there." Said Levy as she was taken aback with the news.

"That sounds suspicious to me, old man. Are you sure this is legit?" Gajeel asked with suspicion.

"You have my word on it, and besides, if anything were to happen, I'm going there with you along with Rufus Lohr, Sabertooth's _de facto _Master." Makarov assured his children.

"His Highness himself asked me to come as well, anyways."

"Sabertooth? They're coming too?" Natsu replied in curiosity.

"Yes, them too." Makarov nodded.

"Wait a minute, you said there were 10 of us going. Who's Laxus' partner, then?" Lucy asked as she realized the fact.

"That would be me." Mirajane replied.

"Ehhh!?" as a chorus of shocked faces replied in unison.

"Don't look at me, Gramps insisted on it. So I might as well go with her." Laxus defended, in front of the accusing and inquisitive stares directed at him.

"If no one has anymore questions, that will be all." Makarov dismissed his children, and everyone went out his office.

"I wonder why they would summon all of us to the Palace? "Levy spoke up, bringing the subject to light as they were on their way down.

"I'm guessing they just want to personally thank us for everything that we've done. I don't think there's any ulterior motives this time." Lucy suggested, looking back at her friend.

"Hmm… I don't feel like I trust them, what with how everything happened with you." Said Natsu, skeptical of the government's intentions. After everything that transpired during the invasion, Natsu had changed quite a bit, becoming protective of Lucy whenever something involved her.

"Natsu, don't be like that. It's rude to think badly of people like that. And besides, I got over it, I'm safe and that's all that matters." Lucy said, trying to reassure her partner.

'_Doesn't mean I won't let my guard down when it comes to you.' _Natsu thought.

Cobra smirked. _'That idiot still hasn't got a clue of what he really thinks about that girl.'_ Kinana frowned at her partner, she knew that anytime Cobra was smiling like that for no apparent reason, it means he's eavesdropping on someone's thoughts.

'_Erik-san, I told you not to listen in on people's thoughts.'_ Kinana telepathically scolded him as they headed for the bar.

'_Hey, can I help it if that flame-head idiot doesn't remember my abilities? Besides, you're just as interested as everybody else in what's going on between those two._' Cobra telepathically pointed out. Thanks to their special connection, Cobra could converse with Kinana telepathically now. So far, Kinana is the only exception who could hear him. Trying to establish a communication between them for the past 7 years continuously had eventually paid off.

'_Yes, but one; if I took advantage of your abilities, it'd be unfair to everybody else. Two; those two have every right to their private thoughts, and I'm not going to barge in their minds like that. I couldn't call myself a friend if I violated their privacy.'_ Kinana shot back with a disapproving frown.

'_Ok, okay, fine. I'll try not to do that again. That Natsu really needs to be more careful next time.' _Cobra promised his partner.

'_Good. Here you go_,_ a glass of gin laced with the best poison I could find.' _Kinana handed him his drink.

"Thanks."

As Kinana went back to work helping Mirajane, she noticed that Gajeel and Natsu had already gone home with their respective dance partners. She smiled. Those particular pair of couples was one of the most anticipated couples in the betting pool. Everyone could pretty much see it. It would simply be a matter of time.

* * *

Gajeel and Levy had parted ways with the group, along with Lily to the dorms, while Natsu took Lucy to her apartment as usual. The girls breathed a sigh of relief as the boys' back and forth bickering was starting to get on their nerves.

"Hmm… I can't wait! I bet that huge gala or whatever will have some awesome food. Don't you think so, Lucy?"

"Hey Natsu, think there's going to be a huge grilled fish there?" Happy asked as he started to drool.

"Haa… as usual, all you guys can think of is food. If not that, then it's fighting somebody." Lucy shook her head. As usual, she stepped up on the side of the river despite warnings from passersby. But this time was a little different than usual, as Natsu gently took her hand to make sure she didn't fall.

Natsu had been doing this for a while now since the past week. Escorting her to her apartment and holding her hand like this. It seemed as if he wanted to make sure she was in one piece if he could help it. At first, Lucy chalked it up to plain ol' kindness from Natsu but now that she thought about it, he had noticeably changed whenever her well-being was involved.

For example, when she was helping with the reconstruction at Crocus, a beam of wood at a destroyed home had gotten loose as she was passing by. Luckily, Natsu saved her in time. But what happened afterwards became the problem. Natsu had gotten furious at the construction worker's carelessness and was on the verge of beating the poor man to death. Thankfully, Erza diffused the situation by placing a well-placed beating on his head that knocked him out. Gray and Erza had noted that Natsu usually wasn't this aggressive. Sure, he'd be angry at somebody if their carelessness potentially hurt his friends, but he would never try to hurt them, since they were innocent to begin with. And if Natsu's behavior concerned them, they didn't outwardly show it.

The more Lucy thought about it, the more confused she became. One moment Natsu treats her the same just like everybody else, the next moment he gets a bit intimate, much like what is happening now. She couldn't for the life of her figure out the signals. Why was he so simple and yet so complicated to understand? One thing's for sure; Natsu Dragneel was an enigma in its entirety.

"Well, we're here." Natsu stated as they stopped outside the apartment building.

"Thanks for walking me home, you two."

"No problem. Y'know, it'd be nice if we could win that prize." Natsu nonchalantly mused.

"Eh? That's rare of you, Natsu. You're not one to think about money." Lucy looked at him quizzically.

"Yeah! Think about the tons of food we could buy with that prize!" Natsu gleefully proclaimed.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

Lucy rolled her eyes "Of course you do. Well, I'll see you tomorrow. Let's try practicing for the dance too if you have time."

"Sure."

"See you tomorrow." Lucy bid goodbye and closed the door.

"Natsu…" Happy began.

"Not now, Happy. I want to give her a good time while it lasts." Natsu replied solemnly.

Happy sadly nodded as they went off to their house.

Meanwhile, Lucy finished showering and put on her pajamas before going to bed. Just as she was about to sleep, she suddenly remembered about what Natsu wanted to tell her today.

'_I wonder what he was going to say….. oh well, I'll ask him tomorrow or later.'_ Lucy thought as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** And that's the first chapter done. I might upload the next chapter tomorrow. But with Finals going on, my time is limited. Hopefully I can churn out the next chapter before the new manga chapter comes out.

Big thanks to Catwho-sama for being my beta. I must bow to your greatness!


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's notes: **I'm really sorry about the terribly rushed quality version of this chapter from a few days ago. This is an updated and beta'd version from the previous version. Big thanks to Catwho for being my beta. Words aren't enough to express my gratitude. I also plan to release an epilogue in the coming days, so look forward to it!

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**The**_** Dragons' Ball Dance**_

_Chapter 2_

"So, what do you think of it?"

"Hmm, what?" Rogue asked his dragon slayer partner disinterestedly.

"C'mon! You know what I'm talking about! The ball, Rogue! The ball!" Sting said exasperatedly to his partner across the table.

"Oh, that…. What about it?" Rogue raised an eyebrow at Sting.

"Come on, you could try acting a little bit more interested!" Sting frowned at his partner's apathy. He was never really a guy who got excited very often. That trait of his sometimes got on Sting's nerves.

"Sorry, not interested. There's your answer." Rogue deadpanned.

Sting sighed.

"I should've known you'd say that." Sting muttered under his breath.

"Why do you have to ask me this, anyways? You know I'm not interested in that sort of thing. Social gatherings like that aren't my kind of thing."

"C'mon, you aren't the least bit interested in beating Natsu-san and Gajeel-san?" Sting asked, hoping he could coax his partner into going.

"Nope."

"Sigh… you're such a buzz killer as always." Sting complained.

"I have no need of trying to prove myself to Gajeel like that. I doubt he'd even go either. Gajeel _definitely_ isn't that kind of person." Rogue bluntly stated, having a hard time to believe that Gajeel having a girlfriend was completely within the realm of possibility.

"Oh yeah? I heard rumors he actually _does _have a girlfriend. Maybe he'll go with her." Sting informed him.

"Rumors are just rumors. They don't have any solid evidence or whatsoever." Rogue scoffed, rebuffing his partner.

"Ok, tell you what. If Gajeel-san did bring his girlfriend, you're going to have to dance at the ball too, got it?" Sting demanded.

"Fine, but just one slight problem. What if he does have one and I didn't bring a partner to dance with by the time we reach Crocus?" Rogue said, pointing out the fallacy of the bet.

"Easy. Just call up the guild and get any of the girls to Crocus. It's not that far, anyways. Only 3-4 hours away, tops." Sting suggested.

"You sure have a simple-minded way of thinking." Rogue sighed.

"I like to call myself _'practical' _". Sting snarked.

"Speaking of which… are you going with someone?" Rogue asked, changing their subject.

"Well, it's not that I don't want to… it's just that I don't know how to approach her. I and the rest of the guild abandoned her. How could I go up straight to her face and ask her to be my partner just like that?" Sting lamented.

Rogue blinked in incredulity.

"You're kidding, right? You've been nagging me for the past few minutes about going to the dance, and you're telling me you don't have a date either?!" Rogue hissed.

"Well, I was hoping you already had someone in mind. So if you were going, I thought I might have a good excuse to get her to come with me." Sting said nervously, trying to avoid his friend's glare.

"Well, at least I succeeded. Partly, anyways."

Rogue simply smacked his face and wiped his hand down.

"Well, sucks to be you. 'Cause since I'm going there without a date, you won't have a good enough reason to convince Yukino completely." Rogue coldly said, leaving his friend no room for pity after trying to manipulate him.

Sting slumped in his chair, wondering what he can do to convince Yukino to come. After Minerva and Jiemma was ousted from the guild, everyone took it upon themselves and chose to change the guild's ways. The fact that Minerva had pretty much abandoned the battle against the dragons certainly helped make their case that they wouldn't want to be led by a coward.

One of their first actions was to nominate Rufus as Guild Master. Everyone had unanimously agreed on it because Rufus was one of their strongest five and aside from that, he had a good judgment of things. Rufus tried to decline, but finally relented in the end. He accepted the position on one condition; that his assignment was temporary until they could find someone they could acknowledge as strong and worthy enough to lead the guild. Makarov had offered to help find a suitable replacement for the time being.

Another revolution that occurred within the guild was to re-invite Yukino back to the guild. Rufus had acknowledged that they were completely out of line with their actions. Aside from that, Rufus also wanted someone to help him in his day-to-day paperwork. Yukino was particularly well-organized and also had a good head on her shoulders. She still had confidence issues, but Rufus' encouragement helped her get along.

Meanwhile, Sting used his mission rewards to help her pay for her bills and the like, shelving a little over 90% of his mission pays. Yukino was completely unaware that Sting had been paying her bills in her stead. The money she used to pay bills came from Rufus, so she thought he was giving her share of her job as advisor. Sure, she took some occasional missions, but she mostly stayed within the guild to manage the missions and paperwork.

Sting didn't do this without a reason. He wanted to try to make it up to Yukino for his apparent treatment of her. Even though everyone shared the blame, if there's one thing that he isn't, it's that he wouldn't try to make up for his mistakes. He'd heard that Gajeel went above and beyond to make up for his past deeds to his guild. He was in awe of how Gajeel would go so far to redeem himself. This made him resolved to make up for his deeds to Yukino. He preferred going subtle. Such as following her home to make sure she got home safely. Rogue had commented on how much of a stalker he was being. Sting was normally boisterous and loud, so it had amazed Rogue that he could be subtle for once. If only he did that more often on missions. Then again, when Sting got his head into something, he could really produce some impressive results. There was once a mission that that tested his patience through and through, but eventually, he came out successfully. Even Rogue was heavily impressed.

So it was simply a matter of getting his head out of fighting and eating all the time. Unfortunately, that's a tall order for him.

Sting was also impressed with Yukino's courage to close the Eclipse gate. If she and that girl Lucy hadn't closed it in time, they would have been thoroughly killed. That alone was enough for Sting to acknowledge her strength. The Magic Games had made him realize that strength was not just about power, but also about the heart and courage to move forwards without any hesitation.

After coming up with nothing, Sting got up and left the guild to hit the sack. Yukino was currently in Crocus, and helping with the reconstruction. And as if the timing couldn't be any better, Sting was also going to Crocus the same day Yukino returned.

Rogue wondered whether he should help Sting or just let him be.

Well, he would think about it when she arrived tomorrow.

* * *

The next day, Yukino returned.

She decided to have lunch at the guild and work on the paperwork Rufus assigned to her. She took a seat at Rogue's table and greeted him.

"Rogue-sama, good afternoon." Yukino nodded.

"Greetings to you too, Yukino." Rogue smiled in return.

"I hope you don't mind me doing my paperwork here." Yukino put the pile of papers on top of the table.

"I don't mind." Rogue permitted as he took a sip of his drink.

"Frosch isn't back yet?" Yukino questioned.

"No, she said she'd be back by tomorrow. I just received word from her this morning." Rogue replied. It was getting a tad lonely without the Exceeds around. Frosch and Lecter had been invited by Nichiya to visit the Exceed settlement so they could learn to know their roots better. And if possible, they could meet their real parents.

"You don't seem lonely, Rogue-sama?"

"Well, just a bit." Rogue admitted.

"Have you and Sting-sama decided on going to the ball?" Yukino asked, glancing up at Rogue as she was reviewing the document in front of her.

"Not yet, we still don't have a partner to go with." Rogue curtly replied.

"I understand." Yukino went back to reviewing her paperwork, occasionally taking a bite of her lunch.

"Do you want to go?" Rogue asked.

"Eh? Well, it would be nice, I suppose." Yukino startled.

"Go with Sting, then. He's been wanting to ask you for the past few days." Rogue suggested nonchalantly, almost making it sound like an order.

"S-Sting-sama!? Why!?" Yukino stopped suddenly in the middle of her writing.

"I don't know either, but I guess he just wants to give you a good time. He's probably trying to do this to make up for everything that he did."

"B-but he doesn't have to. I don't have anything against him. I'm just happy to be back in the guild." Yukino protested, not wanting to make him feel a burden over something she already put behind in her past.

"Now that you mention it, why did you accept us? Why didn't you just go to Fairy Tail?" Rogue wondered.

"Well, the truth is, I've wanted to be in Sabertooth for as long as I can remember. So, I couldn't just abandon that part of me." Yukino revealed solemnly.

"But we hurt you."

"That doesn't matter, after what I heard about Gajeel-sama and what happened with Cobra-sama, I felt there were some things worth giving a second chance." Yukino smiled gently, thinking how the two dragon slayers gave her inspiration.

"Besides, in a sense, you were giving me a second chance as well, did you not? That's why I decided to repay that by giving this guild another chance."

Rogue's eyes widened. He had never thought for a moment that Yukino could be so forgiving. Sting's hard work was well worth the compassion she gave out. Rogue smiled. How lucky Sting was to have someone so compassionate and kind. If he was right, then Sting definitely had fallen for her.

"Well then, all the more reason for you to go with him. In case you haven't noticed, Sting's been the one paying your bills from his missions. I think he deserves a chance to prove himself that he can give you happiness. And if I know him, he'll do whatever it takes."

Rogue smiled and left, leaving Yukino to consider her options.

Yukino felt a bit dumbfounded by this revelation, she didn't know whether she should actually consider the option or not. But her thoughts went to Gajeel-sama as an example. When Master Makarov reached out his hand to him for a second chance at life, Gajeel had repaid that favor a hundred-fold. She even toyed with the idea that it must be a dragon slayer thing. Perhaps giving him a second chance would be worth it in the end.

* * *

The day to depart for Crocus had arrived. Fairy Tail's dragon slayers had gathered at the station with their respective partners, waiting to board the train at 01.30 p.m. The dragon slayers had blanched at the mere thought of it. The rest of the dragon slayers had envied the youngest of the group, Wendy for being completely immune to motion sickness. It just wasn't fair.

The girls certainly didn't seem to be too thrilled at the prospect of their partners puking all over the place. Wendy's Troia probably wouldn't last long enough until the ride was over, which took at least 4-5 hours of travel. Casting it on Natsu would just last for an hour anyway, since he was the most often casted on.

Makarov had to order the girls to bring puke bags for the trip. As soon as the train arrived, the Fairy Tail members hopped on aboard. Makarov had Romeo, Wendy and Charle to sit with him in another stable. He worried that Wendy might also start getting overwhelmed from the overbearing smell of puke with her sensitive nose. They certainly didn't need to add another sick dragon slayer anyways.

Wendy felt sorry for the boys. She could hear their moans and groans all the way from the other side.

The girls weren't faring much better either since they had to nurse the boys and help make them comfortable. Only problem was, the coach was starting to stink from the smell of puke from the bags, so they had to open the windows.

Gajeel and Natsu kept whimpering and shuffling on their respective partners' laps. Same went for Cobra. Laxus, on the other hand, opted to lie down at the bench across Mirajane's seat. He didn't think Mira's legs could support Laxus' hulking figure. Levy fed Gajeel some iron to ease the sickness a bit as Lily looked on in amusement at his partner's suffering. Meanwhile, Kinana went further by occasionally giving Cobra a passionate kiss laced with her poison. The girls (except for Mira) blushed like mad every time Cobra got his "meal." Kinana could now use Take Over, something she finally mastered during the invasion when she protected Laki from the dragonoids. When she and Laki were cornered, Laki made a distraction so Kinana could escape.

'_Don't worry about me, just go!'_ Laki ordered as she faced against several dragonoids.

Of course, being a member of Fairy Tail she was, Kinana immediately returned to Laki's side after Laki told her to escape.

'_I can't leave you here like this! I'm not going to run away! I'm a member of Fairy Tail as well!'_ she declared.

'_Take Over: Serpent Soul!'_ Kinana chanted. With her newfound powers, Kinana instantly took down the dragonoids with ease as her poison easily melted away at the dragonoids' body.

Mirajane heartfully congratulated her achievement. But what surprised her was how Kinana mastered the more advanced transformations so quickly after that, such as partial transformations. She even went beyond Mira's expectations by being able to transform her own organs to the serpent's she took over. This, all the while maintaining her human appearance. Which is why she could always feed Cobra with her poison through his mouth by transforming an organ of hers into the poison pouch of a serpent monster. Makarov theorized that while she has mostly forgotten her time as a snake, an unconscious part in her brain remembers it, which is why she was able to master her advanced transformations so quickly.

Of course, her only drawback was that she had low stamina due to being new at the practice of magic, so she couldn't maintain her transformations for extended periods.

As the sun started to set down, Crocus' main train station could be seen within viewing distance. Fortunately, the damage from the invasion did not extend all the way to the station, which was an integral infrastructure for the capital.

"Natsu-nii, everyone, we're here." Romeo called out to the others.

Natsu groaned. "Finally, it's all over."

"Amen to that." Gajeel agreed.

As everyone got to the exit with their luggage in tow, they were greeted by a familiar man.

"Good evening, mages of Fairy Tail." Arcadios greeted with a bow.

"Ah, Arcadios. So you're our greeting committee?" Makarov asked.

"Yes, the King has tasked me to pick you up at the station." Arcadios confirmed.

"Well then, by all means."

Arcadios nodded and called out one of his men.

"Chris, I'll leave you to handle their luggage all right?"

"Yes sir!" The young man saluted.

"Please leave your belongings here. My men will load them up on the carts and take them to the palace." Arcadios beckoned to the guests.

Everyone dropped their luggage on the floor and let the men do as they were ordered.

"Now then, please board the carriages waiting outside. It will be a bit of a distance to the palace." Arcadios gestured to the exit where the beautifully crafted carriages waited. _'They must be the royal family's carriages.'_ Levy concluded.

"No way in hell! I'm not going on another goddamn vehicle again after those 5 hours of hell!" Gajeel protested.

"Same here." Cobra deadpanned.

"For once, I agree with Metal-face." Natsu replied.

"Double for me, too." Laxus raised his hand.

"Does this mean you'll walk all the way there?" Arcadios asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why don't you guys just go with the Exceeds?" Levy suggested, looking back at the boys.

"Laxus can just travel with his Lightning, too." Lucy added.

"Good idea, Levy. I'll also carry an extra person with me." Lily said as he transformed into his battle mode.

"It's decided, then. The ladies will come with us while the gentlemen will follow with their flying partners." Arcadios concluded.

"Romeo here will come with us as well, as he doesn't have the same motion sickness as the others do." Makarov informed Arcadios.

"Very well."

The girls (and Romeo) hopped on the 3 carriages prepared with Makarov while the boys took off with their Exceeds. Lily carried both Cobra and Gajeel. Laxus travelled on his lightning, jumping between buildings. Laxus could only use his lightning to travel in short bursts of speed. However, it could cover great distances in a single leap.

"We're here." Arcadios said to Makarov as he peered out towards the palace garden. The carriages halted in front of the palace entrance. Just as the carriages halted, the boys landed in the garden as well at the same time.

Makarov shouted out to them, "C'mon, get moving, you slowpokes!" Makarov waved over to them. The boys obliged and picked up their pace, hurrying over to Makarov and the others.

Arcadios led the group in before turning to them in the middle of the hall,

"Please wait a moment, it won't take long." Arcadios said, before heading over to a soldier standing guard at a corner, speaking to him in a hushed manner.

After he was finished, he returned to the group.

"We're going to have our audience with the King right now. We should be summoned shortly." Arcadios informed the group.

A loud gurgle suddenly broke their conversation.

"Lucy… I'm hungry." Natsu whined.

Arcadios chuckled, while Lucy stomped on Natsu's bare toes. Natsu let out a small yelp.

"Shut it! We're going to be meeting the King, so behave!" Lucy let out an annoyed hiss.

"We'll get some food as soon as our meeting is over."

Wendy and Kinana giggled, while Levy gave Gajeel a _'you'd-better-behave-or-else'_ glare. Mirajane also gave off a chilling look underneath her smile to Natsu and Gajeel that all but clearly said _'you heard what they said, misbehave and I'll fuck you 20 ways to Sunday, understand?'_

Makarov even gave a sidelong glance to warn them to be on their best behavior.

A door opened to the far left corner side of the hall where the Fairy Tail group waited. Four familiar faces popped out from behind.

"Yukino!" Lucy called out, happy to see her fellow celestial mage to be here as well. She dashed over to her.

"Lucy-sama!" Yukino brightened, delighted to see her friend as well and embraced her in a hug.

"I didn't expect you to come!" Lucy exclaimed, as she broke away from her.

"So am I! I didn't expect to see you as well!" Yukino replied.

"Sting and Rogue came too?"

"Of course, did you think I'd pass up a chance to beat Natsu-san and Gajeel-san?" Sting boisterously replied.

"It's not a battle, you know…." Lucy pointed out, as she sweated.

"Duh. Of course not. If I can't beat them on the field, might as well beat them in something else." Sting let out a grin.

"Don't look at me. Sting here dragged me all the way out here." Rogue quickly replied.

"While this is a momentous reunion for you two, we should be getting ourselves ready." Rufus cut in, reminding them of what they're doing.

"You're right." Lucy nodded, before dragging Yukino over to the rest of the group as Yukino's guild mates followed at a sedate pace.

Rufus greeted Makarov, giving a small bow to the Wizard Saint.

Makarov simply nodded and gestured him to stand by his side. As for the Exceeds, They chatted animatedly with each other, such as Lily asking about Lecter and Frosch's trip to the Exceed settlement.

Natsu, for his part, settled for glowering at Sting.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"What, didn't you remember? We're supposed to be the honored guests too, remember?" Sting replied as a matter-of-factly.

Natsu turned away from Sting.

"What, scared of facing the eventual winner?" Sting goaded.

"Hah! You think you can beat me!? Dream on!" Natsu shot back.

"Just you wait and see! I'm gonna wipe your ass off the floor!" Natsu pointed at Sting.

"Challenge accepted."

"Oi, Salamander! You've got the wrong guy to watch out for! I'm the one who's gonna wipe you two's asses! Gihii!" Gajeel glared, headbutting the two dragon slayers.

"Oh, wanna make something out of it, Gajeel?" Natsu provoked.

"_**BOYS."**_Mirajane warned, as her Satan aura started to fill the room, all the while maintaining her cheery attitude, although everyone clearly knew she was getting pissed.

The trio gulped. They knew Mirajane could be far more terrifying than any dragon if she really wanted to.

A guard opened a door that led to another room as a second guard trotted over to Arcadios to report.

"Ah, good." Arcadios replied, dismissing the soldier.

"The King is ready to see you now." Arcadios announced to the group behind him.

"Follow me." Arcadios beckoned, leading them off to the door that was just opened.

The group of mages followed suit and halted as Arcadios held up a hand to motion them to stop. He nodded to a guard beside the door. The guard nodded likewise.

"ANNOUNCING, HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS KING TOMA E. FIORE! AND HER ROYAL PRINCESS, HISUI E. FIORE!" The guard banged his spear just as the king emerged from the vestibule behind the royal seat with his daughter.

As the king took his seat with his daughter standing at his side, the king beckoned for the mages to come.

"Mages of Fairy Tail and Sabertooth, come forward."

Arcadios stepped forward, leading the mages in. As he reached the podium, he stood aside and kneeled. Makarov gestured his children to do the same, although some of them clearly had to be yanked down by their partners.

King Toma nodded. "Mages of Fairy Tail and Sabertooth, you have all fought valiantly against a great threat to mankind. Such courage truly cannot be measured by any sort of thing that exists within the world. Courage begets strength. All of you who have fought in the invasion opened a new tomorrow where mankind can live on. There is no doubt that you courageous mages are the strongest mages I have ever met. Rise now, please."

The group stood up. King Toma got up from his seat and stepped forward to the group of mages in front of him. Hisui followed suit as well.

This time, the royal family kneeled before the mages. "On behalf of the people of Fiore, I thank you. Words of thanks aren't even enough to express my gratitude. I cannot even begin to imagine how," Toma said, as he started sobbing. Hisui likewise shed a single tear of gratitude towards the mages in front of her. Even the guards in the room kneeled before them, following their king.

The group of mages were in awe of the king's humbleness. But they quickly composed themselves and gave the royal family a full blown smile.

Natsu began, "What are you saying, old man? We just fought to protect the people we cared about. You don't have to say thanks to us. Fighting to protect our loved ones is natural. There's no need for gratitude." Said Natsu as he grinned.

"Natsu!" Lucy scolded at Natsu's rudeness.

Natsu simply ignored her.

"He's right, Your Highness. You needn't to bow your head for something so natural." Makarov bent down to pat the king's shoulder, gently assuring him. Makarov grabbed his hand so he could stand up.

King Toma looked up at the mages, all giving off a warm glowing smile that assured the king gratitudes need not to be spoken. All that mattered for them was that they could live to see another day, and enjoy life with their loved ones.

"Yes, you're right." The king said as he stood up with his daughter, understanding what the mages meant. Living life to the fullest and protecting your loved ones is more important than anything. When something threatens those, it's natural to step up to the plate regardless of the risks.

The king wiped his tears away with his handkerchief that he took out from his coat.

Meanwhile, Hisui took notice that of the mages gathered, only 15 was present. An odd number.

"Excuse me, but isn't there an uneven number among you?" She asked.

"Well, my children already have partners of their own, so that leaves Sabertooth." Makarov said, glancing towards the guild members in question.

"I'm going with Yukino." Sting informed them. "It's Rogue here who's not interested in the dance." Sting said as he jerked a thumb towards his best friend.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not suited for this sort of thing." Rogue said as he nodded his head in apology to the king.

"That reminds me….. Gajeel-san, who's your partner?" Sting asked, turning to Gajeel.

Gajeel put his left arm over Levy's head and leaned on it. "She's right here." Gajeel smirked.

"Gajeel!" Levy shoved his arm away. She hated it when he did that.

"Gihi!"

"Hah! Told you so!" Sting turned towards Rogue with an _'in-your-face'_ expression.

Rogue simply smacked his face.

"Fine… I'll dance. But who am I going to go with? Got any bright ideas?" Rogue narrowed his eyes at Sting.

"I'll go." Hisui suddenly proclaimed. Everyone's heads snapped around to face the princess.

Rogue could only blink and gawk at the princess. He did not expect that. Especially after he found out about his future self from Natsu.

"W-wha!? What are you saying, have you gone mad!? I'm the one who played you around like a fiddle. I'm too dangerous to be around with you!" Rogue heavily protested.

"That was a different you. The you right now is different. And you know what you must do prevent yourself from falling into the darkness. Am I right?" Hisui calmly stated.

"But that doesn't change the fact I'm the one who did it! Why are you saying all this!?" Rogue said, trying to change her mind.

"Because I have faith in you." Hisui said with conviction in her voice and eyes.

"The flow of time has changed completely. Right now, we are heading towards a future yet to be determined. Meaning, that you may just very well not turn into that man I knew of. It's a gamble I'm willing to take on you."

Rogue was almost floored by those words. "B-but I don't… I don't even think…" Rogue stuttered, at a loss for words.

Sting sighed and smacked his friend with a White Dragon's Iron Fist.

"Stop blubbering and just get this over already! You got yourself a date, so deal with it!"

"B-but…." Rogue kept protesting.

"Look, she's not the only one who trusts you to take a different path. Isn't that right, Natsu-san?" Sting glanced at the fire dragon.

"Yup."

"Me, Rufus, Orga and Yukino… We're all behind you, man. You won't be 'him'. I guarantee it."

"Sting…. Thank you." Rogue said as he gave in. Sting simply grinned at his longtime best friend.

Hisui took out her hand and helped Rogue up to his feet.

"Now then, that's already out of the way, why don't we discuss tomorrow's events in detail? Follow me." Toma beckoned.

The king led the mages to another room. This time, it was an even larger room from before. Adorned with beautiful chandeliers and lush carpets with intricately sculpted walls, the room was fitted with a long table to the center and right. It was clear that this was the dining room.

But what really caught the mages' eye was the food on top of the table.

"Yahoo! Food!" Natsu and Sting's eyes lit up like two children in a festival and instantly made a beeline towards the long buffet table and grabbed whatever they could pile on their plates. Happy went straight to the biggest grilled fish on the table and tried to lift it for himself, but to no avail. Lily went to help him before he made a mess by transforming into his battle mode and lifted the plate for Happy.

"Careful, Happy. You're liable to make a mess here." Lily grabbed the plate the fish was on and took it over to the dining table for Happy.

"Oi, Salamander! That one was mine!" Gajeel barked as Natsu took the last piece of pork fillet on the buffet table.

"Finders keepers, losers weepers." Natsu replied in turn, grinning in victory.

"Why you…!"

"Guys, knock it off!" Levy and Lucy shouted in unison. The girls groaned. Couldn't they just go through one day without fighting? The two best friends then dragged them to their seats. With Gajeel's towering figure, Levy had to create a rope and lassoed him by his torso. Lucy likewise dragged Natsu by his scarf.

They made sure the two dragon slayers wouldn't be sitting near each other so they sat between the two. And just as they started to fight again, Cobra spoke up from Kinana's side.

"Natsu, Gajeel - you guys can go all-out if you want, but if you're sure, then I'll tell the girls what you guys are planning." Cobra threatened, knowing full well what they wanted to tell their respective partners. Natsu and Gajeel immediately clamped up, looking nervous as if their lives were hanging by a thread. The girls, on the other hand, became curious as to what their boys were up to.

Rufus and Makarov sat at the head of the table with the king, while Hisui sat between Mirajane and Kinana. Laxus took his seat at Mira's right side, between his grandfather and her. Yukino took her seat across Mira and sat between Rogue and Sting. Rogue sat across the princess, while Sting took a seat by Rufus' side.

Off to Rogue's side, sat Sabertooth's Exceeds. Fairy Tail's Exceeds took their seat off to Cobra's side. Charle sat on Wendy's lap between Lily and Romeo, while Happy sat beside Romeo, scarfing the giant fish he got from Lily halfway down.

Arcadios stood guard by the entrance.

"Ahem, shall I move on to the explanations for tomorrow, then?" The king began.

Everyone looked up at the king, some with their food still in their mouths.

"There will not be much in tomorrow's schedule, aside from the ball dance. But however, the dragon slayers will participate in a parade around the city in the afternoon. This is held so that the people of Fiore can have a glimpse at their heroes."

"After the announcement of the ball dance's winner, once the clock strikes midnight, there will be a fireworks festival. In other words, this will be an all-night festival." The king continued.

The girls seemed very pleased with the arrangement. The boys on the other hand, were completely indifferent and simply continued eating.

"A parade? That sounds fun! I can't wait!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Will we be accompanying our partners too?" Levy asked the king.

"Yes, if you wish." The king nodded.

The girls seemed ecstatic about participating in the parade. They couldn't wait for tomorrow to come now and started chatting in anticipation about it.

"Oh dear, I almost forgot. How long will the time gap be between the parade and dance? I hope we can have enough time to pick our dresses." Mirajane realized.

"The parade will begin at approximately 11.30 a.m. to around four. The ball dance will begin at 8 o'clock." The king explained, answering Mira's question.

"But there's no worries about what you're going to wear. We have that taken care of." He reassured.

"Oh, very well then."

As soon as dinner was done, the guests of honor started to leave for their rooms to retire for the night. They were led to their rooms by the guards assigned to them. The boys and girls were separated into two rooms. And arrangements were made to make sure that that there wouldn't be a fight in their bedroom by separating Natsu, Gajeel and Sting in separate beds far away from each other.

Makarov was given a room to himself.

* * *

The next day after having breakfast, the dragon slayers got themselves ready for the parade. There was much excitement for the event as the floats were being prepared.

As the final preparations were done, the dragon slayers hopped on their own floats. Natsu and Lucy took the front followed by the others. Sting and Rogue were on the same float as Yukino.

The parade was a festive event. Everywhere the dragon slayers went, they were greeted with cheers calling them heroes of Fiore. Every time they passed through people were in high spirits and jubilant.

Heroes.

It was a burden they fully realized, but were willing to take on regardless of anything. Deep in their minds, as Cobra can agree with everyone else, they swore that they would fight to protect their loved ones no matter what.

As the parade finished and they returned to the palace, the girls went to their rooms and took their bathing equipment to the large showering room to refresh themselves. The boys had a late lunch in the dining hall and quickly scarfed them down.

Two hours before the ball, the girls were led by Princess Hisui to the Royal Dressing room. Their jaws dropped when they saw the collection of dresses and gowns in the closets.

"These aren't all mine, actually. Some of them are hand-me-downs; some belong to relatives," Hisui explained. "Feel free to choose whatever you like." She smiled.

"Oh, and if you need any adjustments, Jean here can fix it right up for you. He's the best tailor in all of Fiore." Hisui nodded to the man behind her.

"You mean one of the best in Fiore, my lady." The man said modestly. "My older brother is on the other side helping the men with their suits."

As the girls tried on the dresses, Wendy was a bit troubled with her choice of dresses as she never really dressed up and did not know how to choose the right one for her.

"Is there something wrong, Wendy?" Lucy asked.

"Ah, Lucy-san! Actually, I don't know which dress to choose. They're all beautiful!"

"Hmm…. How about this one, Wendy?" Lucy took out a shoulder-less light blue dress with a small white bow on top of the chest area. The skirt was filled with white frilly fabrics folded between the blue ones. It was simple yet elegant enough for someone of Wendy's age.

"Do you really think so, Lucy-san?" Wendy asked her opinion.

"I think it would look good on you. It goes well with your hair." Lucy gave out her honest opinion.

"All right, thanks Lucy-san!" Wendy said as she took the dress from Lucy.

"Ah, I almost forgot." Lucy remembered, as she summoned Cancer.

"Yes, Lucy-sama?"

"Cancer, can you go help anybody who needs an updo? You could start with Wendy."

"At your command~ebi."

Cancer dismissed himself as Lucy went back to surveying the dresses.

As for the boys, they were also getting ready for the ball and were currently choosing their suits, although they got fussy whenever the suits they chose had the wrong measurement, meaning that they had to get their measurements taken. But the biggest problem was Gajeel, who was forced to gel his hair down. As expected, he was close to going on a rampage when Jonathan, their tailor and hairdresser suggested it. Luckily, Makarov had figured that this would happen, so he asked Jura to come that morning so he'd more or less babysit the dragons. A magically-focused palm was enough to knock Gajeel out.

The boys finished before the girls. The gala wouldn't start for thirty minutes, but some guests could be seen roaming the Grand Hall. Some they could see being from the guilds, such as Gray and Juvia, Macao and Wakaba, Cana and shockingly, Bacchus, as well as the rest of the other guilds. As the men entered, none of the girls seem to be ready yet.

"Tch. Figures we'd be here first." Gajeel groused.

"Yeah… Hope Lucy's not gonna take long." Natsu agreed.

"Say, what did you want to talk about with Bunny Girl?" Gajeel asked, remembering what Cobra said last night. Looks like he wasn't the only one with a secret.

"I'll tell you if you'll tell me." Natsu replied, wondering what Gajeel wanted to tell Levy as well.

And so, they shared with each other what they wanted to say to their partners, since both of them had the feeling they knew what the other wanted to say.

"Sigh… I can't believe it. You too?" Natsu said exasperatedly.

"Not like I have a choice. If we want a chance of beating Acnologia's ass, I need to do this."

"Can't be helped. Man, this is already killing me just thinking about it."

"Yer not the only one." Gajeel snorted.

Meanwhile, Sting and Rogue were having a conversation of their own as well.

"So, you too huh?" Sting asked.

"Yup, if we ever want to have a single chance of beating Acnologia, we have to do this. Not to mention that I need to control the darkness within me as well if I want to prevent myself from doing something I'll regret."

"Me too. After what happened at the Games, I know I need to get stronger too."

Laxus was greeted by the Raijinshuu as they tried to tease him. Laxus decided that it got a bit annoying, so he turned the tables around on Evergreen. Hopefully, that'd take the attention away from him.

Romeo hung around at his father's side.

A loud banging was heard as the guards announced the arrival of the king. Makarov and Rufus followed suit as well.

After another 30 minutes of waiting, the girls finally arrived. All those present at the hall turned to see the maidens entering the hall gracefully. Several whistles could be heard while Jason, who had exclusive access to the ball photographed the girls furiously.

As for the male dragon slayers, some of them could only gawk at them. Particularly, their partners.

Natsu's eyes widened like saucers when he caught sight of Lucy. She was wearing a frilly red dress with a backless top that slit down the middle held up by the neck. The best part was that her make-up wasn't overdone. She kept it as simple as it can be, putting on a red lipstick lightly with some thin eyeliner as a last touch. She also put her hair up in a small bun at the top of her head, and let two curled strands of hair frame her face.

He gulped. He had always thought Lucy was pretty cute, but only now he had realized that she was this beautiful.

"Hey, what are you standing there for? C'mon, let's get going!" Lucy grabbed Natsu's arm away.

"Whoa, hold on, Lucy!" Natsu called out.

For Gajeel's part, he let out a low whistle while Lily smirked at his partner. Maybe this would finally get that lunkhead to admit his feelings.

Levy was wearing a backless light green dress with inch-wide shoulder straps. This was accentuated with her gold earrings and a new yellow headband patterned with black flowers.

Kinana also donned a simple purple dress, to accentuate Cobra's theme.

Mira likewise chose a golden yellow dress and let her hair up like Jenny's. The yellow fabric went perfectly with her white ivory hair.

As for Romeo's reaction, he blushed like mad once he saw Wendy emerge from the entrance. Wendy let her hair down and tucked the right side of her hair back. She also wore a white headband with a little bow to the right. The girls gave her a light lip gloss to accentuate her lips. To top it off, she wore two small crystal earrings.

Romeo always thought of Wendy as nothing more than a friend. But seeing her like this for the first time made Romeo realize she looked really good. And cute nonetheless.

Yukino and Hisui approached their partners each wearing a violet dress with feathers sticking out on the arms for the former, and a white dress adorned with flower-shaped fabrics for the latter

As Arcadios banged his sword on the floor, he announced;

"Please settle down! The king will now say a few words."

"Good evening, everyone. For your valiant efforts in dispelling a threat to mankind, and for your bravery, I would like to humbly thank you all. To celebrate, we have decided to hold this ball in honor of the seven brave mages crucial to the battle."

"I now declare this ball to be open! Dragon Slayers, you may open the dance." The king announced.

As the king finished his little speech, the dragon slayers stepped forward once the music started flowing.

The music was slow and soothing. Lucy recognized it as a minuet. As they gently swayed, Lucy thought of that mission where they had to attend a ball like this. It was a good experience for Natsu, otherwise she would've ended up with stubbed toes by now.

She looked around at the other dragon slayer couples. They were all a pretty good match for each other. She was happy (and hoping) that they would most likely end up together in the future. And so, the guests and the dragons danced the night away while forgetting how much time has passed. They all had fun so much that it seemed they were without a care in the world.

By the time the clock reached 11.30, Most of the guests, including the dragon slayers, were all tired from the dancing and was content on waiting for the fireworks show to start.

Natsu and Lucy went out to the balcony outside the hall to get a better view of the fireworks later.

"Aaah… that was fun!" Lucy said, even though her legs were starting to give out.

"Yeah," Natsu leaned on the railing to look up at the sky.

Lucy took a seat on the small bench on the balcony hall. The night breeze was utterly soothing. As she took in the chilling, but calming air she noticed from the corner of her eye Natsu seemed to be deep in thought.

"Natsu, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing… it's just…." He sighed.

"!?"

"Lucy, I'm….. sorry. Truth is, I'm… going on a trip with Gildarts and Sting."

"Eh!?"

"Gildarts came by to Crocus when it was my turn to help with the rebuilding here. He offered me and Sting to go with him on one of the 50-year missions he tried to complete. He said that it would be good enough training to help us get stronger."

"What!?" Lucy gasped.

"And since this mission is an SS-rank mission, there's a good chance that I might not return."

"I'll come with you." Lucy cut in, daring him to stop her.

Natsu on the other hand, was unfazed.

"No."

"Why!?"

"Because I care about you." Natsu replied.

Lucy took on a shocked expression, feeling as if the oxygen was punched out from her.

"Look, I don't know why, but I just can't bear to let you in danger. Not if I can help it."

"Are you looking down on my abilities, Natsu!?"

"No, I'm not!" Natsu roared.

"Then tell me why I can't go with you!"

"Because… I LOVE YOU!" Natsu panted.

Lucy felt as if she ran into a wall she shouldn't have been going for.

"I love you, Luce…. That's why I want you to be as safe as possible. And I know you want to get stronger too, but this is too dangerous for you." Natsu continued.

"And that's not all, Metal-face there is also going to spy on Tartaros with Cobra. All of us are going away to get stronger somehow. Gajeel's thinking of searching for kinds of magic to get himself stronger. Tartaros' a good lead to start with." Natsu explained, knowing that her best friend would be devastated when she found out he's taking on another risky mission and she would want to be in the know before Gajeel got up and left.

"I'm really, really sorry Lucy." Natsu pleaded.

"Promise me you'll come back. Promise that we'll go on adventures forever!" Lucy said as she sobbed about her partner's goodbye.

"I will, I swear on it."

Natsu promised as he kissed her forehead. At the same moment, the fireworks went off.

"I'm glad I could share this moment with you before I go." Natsu said to Lucy while they looked at the fireworks going off in the night sky.

The guests in the Grand Hall were able to see the fireworks as well through the glass ceilings of the palace. As they took in the beautiful display, some would etch this in their memories because it would very well be their last memorable memories.

* * *

**Author's notes:** And that's a wrap! I plan to release an epilogue soon so keep an eye for it. Speaking of which... Big thanks to all my reviewers and followers. Your words and follow notifications has been the driiving reason for me to keep going. Thank you all! Remember, keep an eye out for the epilogue!


	3. Epilogue

**Author's notes: ** Epilogue is finally done. Big thanks to Catwho for being my beta. Good luck on your new job too!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters. Mashima, the god-like mangaka who can churn out 6 manga chapters in two weeks like it's nothing, does.

* * *

_**The Dragons' Ball**_

_Epilogue_

Lisanna was currently reading the recent issue of Sorcerer's Weekly at the bar. She had to giggle every time her friends were brought up in the magazine. She was currently reading the article on the ball dance written by Jason himself. Her stomach was really going to have a bad stomachache at this point from giggling and snickering too much. After all, how could she not? The couples were too cute.

Each couple was commented upon in a small section of the article, but Natsu and Lucy got the biggest bulk of the article since they were the winners of the dance. The guild's most beloved couple had to endure so much teasing, but Natsu took it in stride. Even if he got annoyed from time to time.

Lisanna closed the magazine and looked at the date on the calendar. She sighed wistfully. Tomorrow would be the day Natsu departed with Gildarts. Gildarts had already arrived in Magnolia a few days ago to pick up Natsu. It came as a big surprise to everyone that Gildarts was going to take Natsu on the 50-year mission that he couldn't complete and it came as an even bigger surprise that Sting would be joining as well. Gildarts chose the 50-year mission for Natsu and Sting because the 100-year mission was completely way out of their league. After all, if Gildarts could barely survive by a hair's breadth from that mission, then Natsu and Sting would be annihilated for sure.

Gildarts believed that of the seven dragon slayers, Natsu and Sting had the greatest potential among them. If they could complete the 50-year mission, then they would no doubt have a better chance at fighting Acnologia.

Gajeel had left without a word mysteriously a few days ago. All Makarov had to say about Gajeel was that he sent him on a mission. Unfortunately, he never specified what it was. Cobra was also sent to Crime Sorciere to help them out. Especially since Ultear had gone missing, so they were low on hard-hitters.

Lisanna sighed once again. The past few weeks had been a real roller-coaster ride for everyone. From the Games to the dragons, and then to the ball dance and finally the dragon slayers going their separate ways. Things were happening so fast, she couldn't believe it. But she knew that it was the way life worked. It could move slowly like the calm seas, it could move fast like the raging tides.

As she got up and left, she thought of Natsu and Lucy. Although she got over Natsu from all those years ago, a part of her still cared about him just as much Lucy did. She wanted nothing more than Natsu's happiness. That was all she wished for him. But with his training trip going on, she's been having doubts if he could handle the isolation away from Lucy. She hoped that those two would be able to handle it.

* * *

As night fell, Lucy was taking her nightly shower. As soon as she was finished, she went straight to bed, only to feel a presence beside her.

"Eeek!" She yelped.

"W-wha!?" as the intruder got up in shock from the scream.

"Natsuuuuu! How many times have I told you to not sneak into my bed without my permission?!" Lucy shrieked.

"Ahahah! Oh, it's you, Lucy." Natsu laughed.

"That's not funny, you idiot!"

"Oh come on, Luce. How many times have we been through this already? You always end up letting me sleep in your bed, anyways." He grinned.

Lucy pinched down the bridge of her nose. She groaned. She shouldn't have been surprised, though, since this was almost a daily occurrence by now. She sighed and gave in like always, and immediately went back to bed as she put out her bedside lights. She really didn't have the energy to argue with Natsu at this point.

Just as she started to doze off, she felt Natsu's arm enveloping her.

"Natsu?"

"Sorry, is it… okay if you'll let me stay like this for a while?" he asked hesitantly.

"What's wrong?" Lucy turned to face Natsu.

"It's just…. I just want to remember your smell. 'Cause this might be the last time I'll do this." Natsu confessed as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Natsu…." Lucy whispered as she snuggled closer to him. Natsu kissed her forehead and started sniffing her hair. He was going to make sure he'd never forget the smell.

"Hey, you'll still keep that promise, won't you?" Lucy asked as her eyes started to feel drowsy.

"Yeah, I will. Don't worry." Natsu promised her for the last time. And the two dozed off into the night as they took in the warm embrace they shared.

* * *

The next day, the day of parting arrived. Everyone had held the farewell party at the guild earlier that morning for Natsu. As the train schedule neared, Erza, Gray, Wendy, Lucy and Makarov headed off to the station with Natsu, Happy and Gildarts to see them off.

As they arrived at the station, everyone bid their final farewells.

"Natsu-san, Good luck!" Wendy said as she bid him luck on his journey.

"Don't get killed out there, Flame-breath." Gray said as he held out a fist. Natsu likewise held out his own and pumped it.

"In your dreams, Ice princess!" he grinned.

"Take care of yourself, understood?" Erza said as she bid her own farewell.

"Whatever you do, never doubt yourself." Makarov gave him a final lecture of sorts.

"Natsu…" Lucy was the last to speak.

However, just as she was about to say something, Natsu suddenly kissed her lips. Lucy's face suddenly glowed bright red from the shock. Erza wasn't much better off either, as her mind started to drift off into naughty thoughts. Same went for Wendy.

Makarov and Gildarts merely chuckled at the display of affection. Gray, on the other hand, simply turned his head so he could not see his two friends going at it like two love-crazed animals. Happy simply snickered as usual.

Lucy was so completely absorbed in the kiss that she didn't care about her surroundings anymore. They kept their lips stay that way until Makarov let out a cough to let them know that their PDA was going a little too far. Wendy was still there, after all.

"If you two are done, we should be getting a move on." Makarov spoke up just as the train could be heard whistling from a distance away.

Lucy and Natsu immediately broke off the kiss. Even though they were supposed to be saying goodbye, a part of them badly wanted to keep it going. But then again, if they had gone any further, they'd probably end up having a make-out session in public.

"Well, I'll see you later." Lucy smiled with a blush on her cheeks.

"Yeah" Natsu replied as he turned and hopped on the train with Gildarts and Happy.

As Natsu looked out the window from his seat, he shouted out to Lucy;

"Lucy, you wait for me, all right! I'll take you on the biggest adventure you'll ever have when I return, you hear!?"

"I will! I promise!" Lucy shouted back just as the train started to move and Natsu's figure started to disappear from sight.

Natsu sighed. This was going to be a long, enduring battle for him. The train ride and the training itself. Natsu slumped in his chair and put a hand over his face.

"Don't mope, Natsu. You've already decided on this, haven't you? There's no more turning back." Gildarts said sternly.

"Yeah, I know." Natsu replied with a quiet sigh.

"If I want to protect Lucy and the people I care about, I need to get stronger. I can't let 'that future' happen to Lucy." He said with a frowned expression. Before long, his expression suddenly grew into nausea.

Gildarts nodded, knowing what Natsu meant from what he just said about Lucy. He concluded that seeing Lucy's "death", well, her future self at least, must have sparked something in Natsu. There was no doubt that the Natsu right now in front of him had the greatest potential of defeating Acnologia. Sting also had potential as well, all that they needed was the right training to get them stronger. Right now, Natsu would have to deal with the long train ride as his first phase of training. He hoped Sting would be able to handle it too.

* * *

Sting, Rogue and Yukino were currently waiting at the train station of Grove City with the Exceeds. They were both waiting for the train from Magnolia to arrive. According to their arrangements, Gildarts and Natsu would pick up Sting before heading off to Bosco's borders. From there, they'd travel through the country, passing through the country of Stella on the way before arriving at the Pergrande Ranges.

Rogue, on the other hand, would take the train to Hargeon before boarding on a ship heading towards the small country of Midi. From there, he would head towards his destination; the Empire of Sin.

"So, what was your plan again, Rogue?" Sting asked as he was trying to kill some time.

"I'm going to the Sin Empire. I heard from Makarov that there's a mage specializing in the research of a mage's spiritual energy. According to him, he would've been a Wizard Saint if he hadn't turned it down. The name's Master Lin Tzhen, if I recall." Rogue explained.

"Spiritual energy? What's wrong with yours?" Sting asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Apparently, it seems that according to Makarov, my spiritual energy is unbalanced. That's why I have another personality inside me." He explained with a sullen tone.

"So this Tzhen guy or whoever he is, is the expert on that?"

"Yup, that's about it." Rogue affirmed.

As they finished their conversation, a train whistle could be heard from over a distance.

"Sting-sama, that must be your train." Yukino informed him.

"Huh? Oh yeah, it's about time." Sting said as he checked the station's clock.

Sting stepped towards the rail side to wait for the train to stop. Rogue's train would be arriving in about an hour.

As the train stopped, Gildarts stuck his head out to call out to his second protégé. "Hey, Sting! Over here!" Gildarts waved to them.

Sting likewise waved back to his new mentor. As he prepared to board the train with Lecter, he turned to face Yukino and placed his forehead on top of hers.

"You take care of yourself, all right?"

"Yes, Sting-sama. You too. Have a safe trip." Yukino assured him as he stepped back away.

"Rogue." Sting held out a hand to his best friend.

Rogue smiled and shook his hand while Sting grinned in reply. Sting then hopped on the steps to board the train.

"Well, see ya later!" Sting waved to his friends behind him.

"Goodbye, Sting-sama." Yukino waved as the train started to move. Rogue also joined and waved to his best friend.

The train slowly disappeared from sight until it could be seen no more.

"There he goes," Rogue said in a wistful tone.

Yukino nodded in agreement. As the winds waved roughly, Yukino knew that a great battle was looming over the horizon for mankind. She didn't know why, but she could somehow feel it for sure. And she knew that whatever awaited them, the dragon slayers needed to be ready for it.

In order to protect the things precious to them.

* * *

**Author's notes: **And that's the end of my first fic in Fairy Tail. I may consider writing a spin-off of this fic focusing on Rogue's training. But I'll still need to iron out some details first. I hope you all enjoyed this story! Big thanks to people who favorited, reviewed, and subscribed to this fic.


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